The effect of repeated physical exercise on hippocampus and brain cortex in stressed rats

Sensitivity of target cells to glucocorticoids is regulated by the expression of intracellular glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which mediates the effects of glucocorticoids. The level of GR and of its nuclear transporter protein 70 (Hsp70) were followed in hippocampus and brain cortex of adult Wistar rat males exposed to acute (immobilization, cold) and chronic (social isolation, isolation, and 15 min daily swimming) stress or their combinations. Changes in plasma levels of adenocorticotropic hormone and corticosterone were also studied. A significant decrease in cytosol GR and Hsp70 was observed after acute stress. Opposite to that, chronic stress led to negligible changes in both cytosol GR and Hsp70 levels. Isolation, as chronic psychosocial stressor, caused reduced responsiveness to novel acute stressors, judged by the cytosol GR and Hsp70 levels. This was not observed if chronic isolation was combined with 15 min daily swimming prior to acute exposure to immobilization. The data suggest that repeated physical exercise may, at least in some cases, diminish detrimental effects of chronic social isolation on limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, as judged by the levels of GR and Hsp70 in the Wistar rat brain.